1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a runner for a drawer and, more particularly, to a runner which prevents a drawer from retreated abruptly in accidence.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that there is a telescopic runner used for slidably supporting a drawer. As shown in FIG. 8, the runner includes an outer rail 91, an intermediate rail 92 and an inner rail 93, with a plurality of balls 94 intervening between the two rails 92, 93 to provide a smooth movement of the inner rail 93 relative to the intermediate one 92. Furthermore, the inner rail 93 is provided with a paw 95 that has a rigid toe 951 and a resiliently flexible toe 96, and the intermediate rail 92 is provided with a stop 97 that is formed with a protrusion 971.
In fact, the resiliently flexible toe 96 serves as a torsion spring which keeps the rigid toe 951 in such a place that the toe 951 may be correctly engaged with the protrusion 971 of the stop 97 before the inner rail 93 is fully extended out of the intermediate rail 92. This engagement prevents the rails 92, 93 from separating in their longitudinal direction.
However, it has been found that the resiliently flexible toe 96 usually breaks up soon, so that the drawer slidably supported on the runner may be drawn out excessively and finally falls. Moreover, the drawn-out drawer may probably retreat abruptly in accidence, bring the user into a risk of being hurt at the hand(s), especially the fingers.
The object of the present invention is to provide a durable runner for slidably supporting a drawer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a runner which prevents the drawer from retreating abruptly in accidence.
An improved runner provided for slidably supporting a drawer includes a telescopic rail assembly having a first rail and a second rail, and a retainer having a first piece fastened to the first rail and a second piece fastened to the second rail. The rails are movable one along another to allow the telescopic rail assembly to be varied between an elongated position and a shortened position. Particularly, the first piece of the retainer is adapted to releasably snap onto the second piece when the telescopic rail assembly is in the elongated position.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.